Manchester City are back in FA Cup action this weekend as they face Southampton in the quarter-final of the competition.
City drew 1-1 against Southampton at St. Mary's in the Premier League earlier this year and will be hoping for a better result on Sunday. Pep Guardiola's side suffered a setback in the title race earlier this week after drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace, whilst rivals Liverpool beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates to move within a point of City in the league table.
Ruben Dias will miss the match against Southampton as the Portuguese defender continues to recover from injury, whilst Cole Palmer is also a doubt for the game. Raheem Sterling is expected to come back into the starting line-up after sitting on the bench for the entire game against Palace on Monday night.
Read more: Man City to face Manchester United conquerors Atletico Madrid in Champions League quarter-finals
We used FIFA 22 to get an FA Cup score prediction for Southampton vs Man City on Sunday and this is what happened.
Southampton vs Man City score predicted by simulation
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22 but didn't select a team to control, letting the AI control both teams. We then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a unique score prediction.
We predict that Man City could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Gundogan; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling.
We predict that Southampton could set up in a 4-4-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Caballero; Walker-Peters, Stephens, Salisu, Perraud; Walcott, Ward-Prowse, Diallo, Djenepo; Armstrong, Adams.
City took control of the game from the first kick, controlling possession and threatening through Mahrez and Sterling cutting in from either side and running in behind. Gundogan struck the crossbar in the 17th minute with a fierce effort from distance that had former City goalkeeper Willy Caballero scrambling across his goal, only to see the ball cannon off the woodwork and back into play for Salisu to clear.
Guardiola's side failed to make their pressure count in the first half, but quickly put that right after the break as Mahrez tucked the ball home from close range to put the visitors 1-0 up in the 54th minute. Sterling started the move after picking the ball up wide on the left and driving at Walker-Peters.
The 28-year-old cut inside on his right foot with some nice skill, playing it across the Saints' penalty box into the feet of Mahrez. The Algerian was left unmarked, turned sharply and curled the ball under Perraud's outstretched leg and past Caballero into the back of the net to put City ahead.
Southampton responded with some chances of their own, but Ederson kept the clean sheet intact with some brilliant saves. Che Adams looked destined to equalise after working some space in the box, but his shot at the near post was thwarted by City's Brazilian shot-stopper and pushed behind for a corner.
City held on and progressed to the semi-final of the FA Cup after overcoming a tough Southampton side, with Ederson, Sterling and Mahrez all impressing in a tightly contested affair on the south coast. Guardiola would've hoped for a more comfortable result, but they kept their treble hopes alive and booked a trip to Wembley for the semi-finals.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Southampton 0-1 Manchester City
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that City could dominate possession and have the better chances against Southampton, but may only progress into the next round of the competition thanks to good performances from Sterling, goalscorer Mahrez and Ederson. The simulation predicts that the hosts could threaten throughout the game despite not having much possession, with City's defence standing firm to keep hold of the clean sheet.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
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